Burlington stumps Mount Mansfield for shutout win

MMU's Asa Carlson (12) hands the ball off to Raymond Wilson (32) during the high school football game between the Mount Mansfield Cougars and the Burlington Seahorses at Buck Hard Field on Friday night September 30, 2016 in Burlington. (BRIAN JENKINS/for the FREE PRESS)

The Burlington High School football team set the tone early. On-the-first-play-from-scrimmage early.

Running back Kevin Garrison scampered for 40 yards on the Seahorses’ first offensive snap and then capped off the opening drive with 2-yard touchdown run to grab the lead.

The BHS defense forced a Mount Mansfield fumble six plays later and the signal had officially been sent.

Burlington scored twice more before halftime and didn’t budge in a 27-0 win over the Cougars on Friday night at Buck Hard Field.

“I thought the defense played well, high intensity,” said BHS coach Brennan Carney. “We tackled well at times and that is what we needed to do.”

Garrison set the pace for the Seahorses (4-1) with 19 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns, while Alex Cate rushed 16 times for 80 yards and a score.

“Offensively, we moved the ball pretty well. But we made some mistakes,” Carney said. “We’ve just got to get better and clean up a few things.”

After Garrison opened up the game with his long dash down the sideline, Burlington kept the ball on the ground, earning short yardage to get inside the 5-yard line. There the junior running back took the ball and finished what he started with the touchdown run.

“Garrison is a hell of a kid to stop,” said Mount Mansfield coach Marty Richards. “He’s a really good running back. I give him and the Burlington line a lot of credit. He’s a hard kid to bring down.”

Then, with Mount Mansfield (2-3) looking to respond, the Seahorses defense forced running back Ray Wilson to fumble the ball near midfield. BHS took over and seven plays later doubled the lead on a 6-yard run from Cate.

But the Burlington offense struggled to maintain the momentum, turning over it on downs on the next offensive possession. The Cougars then marched the ball down inside the BHS 10 looking to get on the board.

But the Seahorses hung tough in the red zone for the first of two such stands on the night, refusing to let MMU finish with a score.

Burlington also forced another fumble near midfield in the second quarter and Garrison nabbed an interception inside the 20 to help keep the Cougars off the board.

“It feels really good knowing that we can shutout a team like this, they battle really hard and they like to hit,” said Burlington’s Brody Snow. “It feels good knowing we could stop a team like this.”

Burlington extended the lead to 21-0 with just under seven minutes to play in the first half, with Garrison again capping off a long drive with a short TD run. The drive, which started at the Seahorses’ own 5, saw big runs from Garrison and Josh Slossberg and two key MMU penalties extend the play.

Mount Mansfield looked to swing the momentum early in the second half, marching to the 14-yard line before a penalty and three incomplete passes stalled the drive.

“I think we were in the red zone three times, maybe four, and we goose-egged each time,” Richards said. “We’ve just got to look ourselves in the mirror on Monday and figure out what we did wrong and get better at it.”

Burlington scored on its next time down the field, with Cate punching it in from 3 yards out and effectively clinching the game.

Ray Wilson finished with 89 yards on the ground for the Cougars, while Asa Carlson was 17-of-46 in the air with 142 yards and one interception.

Contact Lauren Read at 660-1855 or lread1@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/laurenreadVT